Hi all! Today, I'll be wrapping up the gems and technologies from the Lorwyn block before MED II shakes the house.

Also, I'll be sharing some tips on transitioning from Singleton to Singleton100. Why?

BIG NEWS!

On the 18th, there was a page that announced that there would be big events for every weekend and that page can be found here.

In one of the upcoming Saturday/Sunday events, there happens to be a Singleton100 event in it! Below is the schedule:

and here is the payout:

 Constructed "Top 8" Premier Events

START TIME: 8:00 am PST/15:00 UTC each of the scheduled days.
ADMISSION: 6 tix
PRIZE SUPPORT: Prizes paid as follows:

Wow! What can I say?
While I would definitely would have hoped it to be a Singleton event, I guess I don't have time to complain!
It's less than a month away so I had better start tuning my Singleton100 deck right away!

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Putting the big news aside, let's have a final look at the "not so obvious" gems from the Lorwyn block since I'm pretty sure that most of us agree on the stronger cards and I don't think we would like to see the Lorwyn block much more anymore.

Makeshift Mannequin

Makeshift Mannequin is a card that mirrors Zombify but allows you to play it at instant speed for a drawback of the reanimated creature dying when targetted. It's very efficient at catching players off guard unlike the sorcery speed counterparts. This card works best in a deck that likes to keep its lands untapped. The drawback is one that can be abused.

Eyeblight's Ending over Rend Flesh

Next up, we have the another spirit: Figure of Destiny. Unlike what the card suggests, activating the first ability turns it into a spirit, giving it auto "protection from Rend Flesh" which might catch people using Rend Flesh off guard when the time actually comes and definitely, any deck spotting a large quantity of plains or mountains would be very likely to have this "little" fella in them. (About its playability in non RRRR or WWWW decks, it can serve as another Isamaru, Hound of Konda.)

What about elves anyway? Are there elves that you may end up not being able to kill?
Besides the wilt leaf elves, those from Lorwyn that might be played and Chameleon Colossus which can't be targetted anyway, most elves are not as threatening as most spirit cards.

Planeswalker: Liliana Vess

Put together Honden of Night's Reach with Diabolic Tutor and you get her. Her "ultimate ability" can seal the deal once it goes off. A rather good card against decks that like to hold up cards which also has multiple uses to boot. 

Guile

A rather forgotten card that can turn games around when holding counter magic. The biggest plus to Guile is that it can come back later on after it dies. One of the main reasons why Guile is highly neglected is because no one likes to make decks that has loads of counter magic packed into it since such decks are easily disliked by the opponents. Definitely, coupled with Force of Will and Pact of Negation, it can just take away some games in a competitive environment.

Gaddock Teeg One of the most irritating cards available, it can shut down or drastically slow down multiple decks. For example, you cast Gaddock Teeg on turn 2 against the Worldgorger Dragon combo deck. Even if the opponent has the combo ready, he might not be able to go into "win mode" until he gets a card that does not cost 4 mana or more and does not have X in the casting cost. It might be able to cripple the opponent long enough to snatch the win away. Against blue based decks, Gaddock Teeg shuts down Fact or Fiction, Gifts Ungiven, Cryptic Command just to name a few. Unfortunately, most really strong blue cards cost 4 mana and this kithkin can say a big "NO!" to them. When you play it via an AEther Vial, blue mages can only hope to draw a removal spell for it.

Windbrisk Heights

Being able cast a spell for WW is quite a good discount once a UW control deck gains control of the board and can use 3 creatures to attack. While it might not be as spectacular in such a deck, it is a very safe risk to take if you don't try to over commit to using it.

Howltooth Hollow

With Raven's Crime available, The Rack deck can definitely use this supposedly "terrible" card to play a free spell. Well worth playing over another basic land.

Vendilion Clique

One of my favourite faeries which has about half as many possible applications as Cryptic Command. I have no idea why blue cards are made so versitile but I have to say that this is one of my favorite cards despite being known as a mediocre card at best.

It's a 3 mana 3/1 flier that beats very efficiently, has flash which allows it to come into play at strategic timings, can trade with Treetop Villages or other 3/3s, can cycle away an important card in your opponent's hand or can let you simply peek. It's an all-rounder card that is good against any deck types you might face.

Intimidator Initiate In a world where efficient blockers like Ravenous Baloth or Loxodon Hierarch run amok, one of the best ways for an aggressive red deck to handle them may be by turning them invalid by using Intimidator Initiate or Frenzied Goblin. Being able to stop  a creature from blocking is almost as good as a having an inbuilt removal spell. In another sense, it's as though you have half the ability to tap a creature. Mono red srategies in Shadowmoor drafts have used this card to rather for similar reasons as well and I advise using it if you run a relatively large number of creatures and you want them to connect.

Smash to Smithereens

A Lava Spike + Shatter if you can pull it off. Artifacts can be quite troublesome so having this in the maindeck is not a bad choice depending on the playstyle of the deck. (This card favors aggressive strategies of course)

Usually, some people have equipment while others have artifact lands or even the rather popular Mishra's Factory when it is animated. I can't say this card can hit 100% of the time but the rewards of playing this card is pretty much worth the risk it carries.

Ashenmoor gorger

A big red (black) card. It automatically qualifies for anti-Terror protection but not being able to block can be quite a relevant drawback. Even so having a toughness of 4 makes it really tough to kill using red spells and it can easily match 4/4s that normally cost 4 mana to cast. The casting cost drawback can be quite huge as well but that problems comes under how the deck is built I guess.

Swans of Bryn Argoll Although it looks quite bad, it is definitely a card that is hard to get rid of. Being able to trade time for cards can be a good thing when you know your opponent doesn't have enough time to cash in all the cards he draws due to natural mana constrains. The fact that it allows you to draw cards by burning it (Volcanic Hammer=Ancestral Vision) or letting you draw your entire deck when you cast Chain of Plasma just makes it better. I currently have a combo deck with it and a UR "casual" deck with it in it. Somehow it doesn't feel as pain to let your opponent draw cards whenyou can utilize it better or when you can win your opponent without taking too long.

Glen Elendra Archmage Faeries are so strong in Singleton. This particular one is almost a two for one in many situations. Even by just casting it, it can be a blocker for a turn and an almost uncounterable Negate in the next. Unlike most "stoppers" (cards like Gaddock Teeg or Aven Mindcensor that prevent you from doing something when in play), Glen Elendra Archmage cannot simply be destroyed to solve the problem. However, If the card can be cast at instant speed, it is possible to cast it while the persist trigger is on the stack so killing it is a possible option. Otherwise, you would need to destroy it twice before attempting to get your spell resolved. This card is obviously very strong against decks that play more spells than creatures. It's a card that you cannot play more than like two of since it costs four mana but definitely, one is fine by any measurement. It's a cheap card to obtain but it's very powerful in what it does. Just remember that it can counter cards like artifacts, enchantments and planeswalkers as well. I say this because I have a feeling that most people think of non-creature as instants or sorceries.

Raven's Crime and Wurm Harvest Life from the Loam and Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth with these ensures that you will destroy the traditional blue mage trying to fling counter magic at your spells. Turn one Entomb for Life from the Loam is a very strong game plan when you have Raven's Crime and Worm Harvest lurking in your deck. I would say that playing this game plan can be quite good against other control strategies but it is not entirely foolproof. I expect maindeck graveyard hate to appear every now and then. However, totally unprepared decks might just get run over by 1/1 Worms (not Wurms). Also, Twilight Mire is really good at assisting this line of plays by providing multiple black mana.

Archon of Justice

While it looks like just another Serra Angel variant, it definitely serves as a very powerful defensive creature. I have to admit that I never thought that it would be anything past decent but I guess that's where I'm wrong. Even being able to kick a land into the yard makes it a 2 for 1 card by itself and its 4/4 body can take down most creatures easily. One of the more underrated cards of the set.

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This is probably the last I mention the cards from this block. I hope you've managed to pick up all the different lands and the powerful cards already. You can either buy them now before Shards of Alara comes or wait till they rotate out before getting them.

Transitioning from Singleton to Singleton100

Now that we're done looking at cards, let's talk about this transition.

So how should a person who has been playing Singleton convert his deck into a 100 card deck of the same design?

Firstly, we need to consciously take note that Singleton100 has 100 cards like the name suggests. This means that we now have to add 40 cards to the 60 card deck.

As a template, we will assume you want to play 40% lands in your deck, which makes it 40 lands exactly.

Therefore you will need to add (40-24=)16 more lands into your deck and (60-36=) 24 other non-land cards into your deck.

Sort your cards according to their casting cost in the deck editor. Next, drag out your lands and dump them in the sideboard. Take a good look at your sideboard. Since Singleton100 is played without a sideboard, you may need to put in some cards into the maindeck as an added precaution. Once you're done with that, dump the remaining sideboard cards back into the cardpool.

After doing so, take a look at the banned list for Singleton100. Are any of the cards you are playing banned in this format?

Coalition Victory
Upheaval
Worldgorger Dragon
Test of Endurance
Biorhythm
Panoptic Mirror
Crucible of Worlds
Kokusho, the Evening Star
Sway of the Stars
Rune-Tail, Kitsune Ascendant
Riftsweeper

Do take note that these bannings are mainly due to their effect in Elder Dragon Highlander games rather than 1 v 1 games. I would say that this banned list is rather inefficient for the format

Once you know you don't have these cards, take a few moments to consider whether or not your deck can play both Skullclamp and Umezawa's Jitte.

While Umezawa's Jitte may not fit all decks, Skullclamp can fit into more decks and can easily catapult your game to a position whereby you have significantly greater card advantage than your opponent.

Next, look for cards that you have once considered for your deck. Find cards that maintain the curve for your deck (so that the general shape of your cards arranged in casting cost order looks the same). Take into account the fact that you will tend to play games later into the game because draws will become more erratic.

As games will tend to play into the mid-game, you can try to employ tactics to improve your mid-game staying power.

For example, you can play Goblin Matron in order to search out Chameleon Colossus or Siege-Gang Commander in a RG build.

Control oriented decks should maximize the card advantage capabilities of cards by putting in more cards that draw cards like Tidings or even Foresee to overcome poor draws.

When you are done choosing your spells, ask yourself these questions:

Do I need more mana fixing?

Do I need more draw fixing?

Does my deck look like it can cast its spells on time taking into account that the correct lands may not turn up as often?

Can my deck be more consistent? (search cards or parallel card choices and probably Sensei's Divining Top + shuffle effects)

Do I have answers to some cards that are maindeck worthy that may just put me out of the game (like Magus of the Moon?

Can I play more spells with the build of the deck?

Are there any card interactions that I am missing? (2 card interactions should be considered even if the decksize is larger)

Can I play some form of tutor based maindeck? (using cards like Primal Command or Enlightened Tutor or Zur the Enchanter )

What are the less important cards? (take note of these so that you know where to throw the axe when you think of something else you want to have in the deck)

At this point, you should notice that having the need to add 16 lands might mean that your deck may have a significant increase in the proportion of basic lands played.

As a rule of thumb, you should try to play more non-basic lands in your deck unless you have a compeling reason not to do so (like when you are playing Early Harvest in your deck or you want Mountains to sacrifice to Fireblast or even just to ensure that you can activate Vedalken Shackles to steal a creature).
Try to add lands to your deck last because you might find some interesting interaction that may be possible only after you choose what cards to throw into your deck.

After choosing your lands, ask yourself these questions:

Do I have my:
-painlands
-fetchlands
-shocklands
-dual lands (from MED 2)
-ravnica "karoo" lands
-2c lands from future sight

Can my lands provide my colored mana on time?
Am I playing too many "come into play tapped" lands? If so, would my deck be able to handle the speed bumps?

Am I playing too many lands that cannot produce colored mana? If so, you might consider throwing some signets into your deck or diamonds (from Mirage) into your deck.

Are there any special lands I want to play?

-Llanowar Reborn if playing green and have cards with persist?

-Minamo, School at Water's Edge if playing legends?

-Man lands? Treetop Village? Mutavault? Mishra's Factory?

-Cycling lands?

-Barbarian Ring or Cephalid Coliseum?

-Urzatron? Temple of the False God?

-Pendelhaven? Quicksand?

-The "basic" land cycle from Shadowmoor?

-Snow-covered lands to activate Mouth of Ronom or Scrying Sheets?

When you're done, test run your deck a couple of times and try to observe

1) Your mana progession
2) Your card efficiency
3) How erratic your draws are

Finally, when you are done, try to update your deck to fit in changes you find should suit the deck or you can even ask for feedback from other players as well.

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With MED II coming, I believe it marks the beginning of a new era. With tons of new "old" cards available that are really good, some decks will fade away while others might make a comeback. I am expecting having Mana Crypt out to be a very big factor in Singleton games, giving decks a nitro option if lucky. Red decks will partially suffer when players stop taking as much shockland damage which can be rather significant.
Hopefully, combo decks will make full use of the dual lands and the added tutors. I am very excited to know that Necropotence is in the set.

Until next time, this is Tarmotog making really long decklists.

Any questions can go to tarmotog@hotmail.com or just in the comments.